The Wood Story
by RedWingsChica
Summary: Wood, in his first season with the Puddlemere United, falls for a girl - hard - during a game against the American team Fitchburg Finches.


Title: The Wood Story  
  
Author: RedWingsChica  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Wood, in his first season with the Puddlemere United, falls for a girl - hard - during a game against the American team Fitchburg Finches.  
  
(A/N) In Goblet of Fire, Oliver mentions to Harry that he's on the Puddlemere United reserve team. In this story, he is no longer on the reserve team but he has been upgraded to the actual team, after the old keeper retired.  
  
Also, for those who haven't read Quidditch Through the Ages, quodpot is a game that was originated in the United States. It has a modified quaffle, called a quod, and the quod gets passed from teammate to teammate, who tries to get it into a pot at the end of a pitch, before the ball explodes. If the quod explodes while in posession of a player, that player is out for the rest of the game.  
  
---  
  
Oliver Wood, the newest keeper for the Puddlemere United quidditch team, was never seen without his broomstick. Wether he was repairing it, polishing it, or flying it, his teammates noticed that the broom never got more than 10 feet away from him. They would joke that he held it close as he slept, as a child would with a teddy bear, just to make sure it was safe. Most people would think that Oliver, with his dashing good looks and piercing eyes, would have something better to sleep with than a broom. However, his love of quidditch and his intense desire to win would scare most girls away. He didn't mind, much, quidditch was his one and only true love, his only passion. Since he was a young child, watching the teams from England and Ireland compete against eachother was the best thing imaginable. He would say that any girl who would want to go out with him would have to love quidditch almost as much as he, and never complain about his quidditch addiction. He had yet to find that girl, so for the time being, he was content to just stick to the best sport in the world.  
  
Finishing his broom polishing, he placed the broom gently down next to his hotel room bed and put his polishing equipment back in it's box. He was in the United States, in the state of Massachusets to be exact, with his team. In an effort to strengthen international relations, the Ministry of Magic decided to have an exhibition of sorts, choosing random teams from England and Ireland to go to other countries and play the teams there. The outcome of the games didn't affect the season records, but was set for more of a practice time and a way for the players to play against teams that they wouldn't usually play against. Four teams were in Massachusets for the games. They were Oliver's team, the Puddlemere United, the local team, Fitchburg Finches, the Sweetwater All-Stars from Texas, and the Chudley Cannons from Britian.  
  
Oliver listened to the commotion outside the door. All of the teams, even the local team, were staying at the same hotel. Percey Weasley, the new head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, had suggested this as a way for the players to get to know eachother more. Most of Wood's teamates had thought this to be a good idea, and they were out mingling with the other team's players. Wood, while somewhat tempted to go out and join his friends, was too busy thinking of his strategies and moves for his upcoming game against the Finches. He double checked his broom, the still top-of-the-line Firebolt, to make sure it was perfect, and made sure his quidditch robes were perfectly wrinkle-free, before decided that it was boring being kept up in his hotel room, and, after locking his broom up in a case that was more padded than a pillow factory, opened his hotel room door and stepped outside.  
  
---  
  
The next morning Oliver woke with a big headache. He opened his door to the living area of the multi-bedroomed suite his team had and noticed that he wasn't the only one with a hangover. Several of his teammates were awake, while a few were still out cold. One of the beaters, a short stocky man with a crew cut, by the name of Tim Crowe, had already brewed a potion to cure hangovers. Oliver spoke to the man, "Hey, Crowe, you got enough of that stuff for me?" Crowe nodded, taking a spare goblet and dipping it in the solution before handing it to Oliver. "I had a feeling we'd all be needing this. Who knew those Texas could drink so much! It didn't even look like they were bothered by it at all."  
  
The night before, Oliver had left his room to find that many of his teammates had gotten into a drinking contest with some of the members of the Texas All-Stars. A few hours later they all stumbled back to their respective hotel rooms plastered, while the Texans didn't look much phased at all. "It's a conspiracy, I tell you. The Texans just wanted us hungover for our game against the Finches today. Those bloody Americans are conspiring against us!" Crowe only half-joked. Giving his friend a light smile and finishing the hangover potion in a large gulp, Oliver put his goblet down and went back to his room to double check his broomstick, feeling much better already.  
  
---  
  
Walking towards the visitors team side enterance, Oliver caught a glimpse of the packed stadium. Even though quidditch was nowhere near as popular as quodpot, a similar game started in America, there were plenty of fans egar and waiting to see how the Brits could play against their hometown heroes. Oliver closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and made sure his dark blue playing robes were perfect.  
  
"Welcome, ladies and gents, to the first exhibition game of the season! My name is John Cannon and I am commenting on today's spectacular game. We have a very special game for you today, it's our home-town heroes the Fitchburg Finches against Puddlemere United! Now, the Puddlemere United are here all the way from Britian. This is the first in our 5 game mini- series, brought to you by the Department of International Magical Cooperation of Britian and our very own Magic Committee of the greater Salem area."  
  
The noise of the fans, the loud commotion going on outside those wooden doors was enough to make even veteran quidditch players gulp. Oliver, however, kept his cool as the doors swung open and the team mounted their brooms. "And now," Cannon's voice reverberated through the stadium, "here come the Puddlemere United!" Flying out, they started their practice laps around the field.  
  
"And now," Cannon announced, the cheering growing louder, "Introducing the Finchburg Finches!" The crowd erupted with applause, cheers, and whistles as the gates for the home team opened and the team shot into the air, in a blur of red and white, and started to take their own warm-up laps across the field.  
  
After a few moments, the referee, a tall, lanky, and balding man, blew his whistle signaling the players to get into their positions. Oliver surveyed the team, some faces he had seen the night before while a few others he hadn't. He only recognized one player, their seeker and captain, Maximus Brankovitch the third. Oliver had heard that he was a superb seeker, and even though he was on the opposing team, wanted to see if Maximus was all that the papers said he was.  
  
The old wizard looked up at the teams hovering in the air and shouted, "I want a clean game out of all of you!" He opened the trunk which contained the balls, and the two bludgers shot into the air, followed closely by the snitch. Taking the quaffle in hand, he threw it high into the air. The chasers all reached for it, but Adrianna Lee, a beautiful young woman with her long raven hair tied in a ponytail, took possession. She ducked and swayed around the opposition, seemingly with ease. Oliver took note of this, and got ready, examing her flight patterns and movements, hoping to predict what she will do once she gets closer to scoring position. Chase Rininger, a chaser for the United team, was diving towards Lee, hoping to cut her off. Getting closer and closer to the goals, Oliver got ready to do his job. Just as Rininger caught up to Lee, she threw the quaffle - back and to the right. Surprised by the action, Oliver was caught off- guard when another chaser for the Finches caught it and threw it into the right goal post.  
  
"GOALLLLL!" screamed Cannon, with a little more excitement than was necessary. "Ten points to the Finches!"  
  
Oliver, still a little frazzled by the amazing move he had just seen, tried to get himself back into the game. He noticed Lee was still near him, and when she noticed he was looking at her she winked, before quickly taking off towards the middle of the field.  
  
---  
  
Two hours later and the game was still going on. By now, the score was 90 - 140, in favor of United. Neither seeker had even seen the snitch yet. Oliver was beginning to wonder if this would be one of those games that would last for weeks when he saw the seeker for the Finches, take a dive at mid-field. Wondering at first if this was some sort of wronski feint, he watched as his team's own seeker, Brandon Keller, closely followed Brankovitch. Looking closer, while still trying to keep an eye on the quaffle, which, glady, was still at the other end of the field, he noticed a glimmer of gold hovering about 8 feet in the air. Both Brankovitch and Keller were getting closer to the snitch - and to eachother. About a foot over the snitch, they hit, head on. Both falling off their brooms, they hit the ground - hard. After a moment of worry, voices of concern being heard louder and louder from the crowd, they both got up, slowly. Keller's fists were clenched, at first Oliver thought he was going to hit Brankovitch. Then, to the surprise of the stadium, Keller's face lit up in a big grin as he raised his right fist high and showed it to the world. Clenched in his grip was the snitch.  
  
"Keller's got the snitch! Puddlemere United wins the game!" Cannon announced to the crowd, voice just a bit sad. The applause from the crowd was one of a polite one, one signifying that it was a good game, but the crowd was surely dissappointed. The United team flew to the ground, and getting off their brooms, started to celebrate.  
  
---  
  
In the United's hotel room, the party was going on all afternoon. Wood, being the rookie player on the team, was voted to go down to the hotel lobby and replenish their supplies on food and drink. Leaving the room he walked towards the lobby, a large grin on his face. He was hoping that he would see Adrianna Lee somewhere around. He wanted to talk to her about her plays. Through the game, she had amazed him with her talent as a chaser. Not only that, but Oliver had to admit, she was breathtaking. She was young, he wouldn't think any older than 20, with a beautiful tanned face and hair darker than the midnight sky. Oliver was so busy thinking about her that he wasn't looking where he was headed and bumped into someone turning a corner.  
  
"Sorry, I'm sorry..." he started, then looked up and realized that he had run into the very person he was hoping to see. She looked a little dazed, with the same expression on her face that he imagined he had on his own.  
  
"It's quite alright, Wood, is it?" Adrinanna asked, flashing him a quick grin.  
  
"Call me Oliver," he replied, voice soft.  
  
"Alright, Oliver it is then," the woman replied to him, a shy grin spreading across her face.  
  
"Good game today," Oliver said, trying to break the ice, "and you... you were great. How did you learn to do some of the stuff that you did?"  
  
"Well, it comes in part from playing quodpot as a kid. Not wanting to have the quod in my posession for long, I had to think of the fastest ways to get the quod into the pot. And then the rest just comes from practice! When one has the passion to win that I do, they practice all they can. Quidditch is my life."  
  
Oliver looked at the girl. She was everything that he had looked for in a girl. Smart, beautiful, and most importantly, in love with quidditch. She was... wonderful. "What," she interrupted his thoughts, "You still with me here, Oliver?" He blinked, snapping out of his daydreaming. Blushing crimson red, he looked down, embarrased. "Yeah, I was just thinking..." he trailed off.  
  
"Thinking about what?" she asked, curious eyes glancing at him.  
  
"Nothing.." he lied. He wanted to take her out to dinner, to talk to her about quidditch and what life was like in the states, to hold her close and kiss her and... but he wasn't very good at the whole love thing. He was always the one whose only love was the game. A man obsessed, he got few dates, despite his extremely handsome features. "Well..." he started, thinking he had to start somewhere.  
  
"Yes, Oliver? What is it?" Adrianna asked, oblivious.  
  
"Well, I know you probably are seeing someone, but if you're not... well... what I mean to say is... wouldyougooutwithmetonight?" he said, the last part barely audible.  
  
She looked at him, confused, trying to decode his mesage in her head. Suddenly, her features lit up. "Oliver, if I heard right and you did just ask me out, I'd be delighted."  
  
He looked back up at her, grinning like an idiot. "Really? Great! Um... how about we meet in the hotel lobby at 6:30?"  
  
She looked right back at him, eyes shining almost as much as her smile, "Sounds great," she said, her voice about as happy as the rest of her.  
  
"Great then, I'll see you later on tonight, then." Oliver said, flashing her his trademark smile before excusing himself to get back to his original task.  
  
---  
  
Wow. Can't belive I wrote all that in one night. Hehe. Well, hope you liked it! Next chapter I hope to have up in a few days. That'll be the date.  
  
Till then!  
  
- Jade 


End file.
